Liebherrs for UK film industry

UK-based crane rental company Lee Lifting Services has taken delivery of a 230 tonne capacity Liebherr LTM 1230-5.1 all terrain crane.

Lee Lifting offers crane rental for the film and television industry in the UK (Photo: Liebherr)

This purchase follows the company’s purchase of three other Liebherr cranes last year.

Equipped with two winches, hydraulic fly jib and remote control, the five-axle Liebherr becomes the flagship of the fleet, taking the title from a 220-tonner.

It has an eight-section, 75-metre main boom and can carry 22 tonnes of counterweight in the UK with a maximum counterweight of 72 tonnes.

Film work

In addition to general rental and contract lifting operations, Lee Lifting offers crane rental for the film and television industry, providing lifting equipment for the UK’s major studios and production companies on functions ranging from set building to aerial stunts, special effects, camera and lighting.

Credits include work on the James Bond, Marvel & Mission Impossible franchises.

The company operates from a base near Heathrow Airport so cranes can travel easily to Central London and the Pinewood, Leavesden, Shepperton, Longcross and Elstree studios.

Director Jody Whitmore said, “When selecting new machines we have very different criteria to traditional crane hire companies. [Liebherr] knows what we need the cranes to do and we can be confident we are getting the right tool for the job that is both high quality and, more importantly, reliable, which in the time pressures of the media industry is critical. We chose this crane as a further step forward in our fleet in terms of boom length, capacity and technology’.